The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-15
THEAFRICAN METH0DISTS
THE GEORGIA CONFERENCE IN
SESSION IN SAVANNAH.

CnurCn-GrOWCn OF AIFlCdu AcUlO-
dism in This Country.
The Georgia Conference of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church began its
annual session in st. James church at
Randolph and Perry streets yesterday morn
ing. There are three conferences in Geor-
gia-the Georgia Conference proper, the
Middle Georgia Conference and Upper
Georgia Conference The Georgia Confer
ence is the largest and represents a majority
of the African Methodists in the State 1t
is divided into seven districts, with altogether
something over 100 appointments. Its or
ganization is similar to that of the Method
list Episcopal Conference.
OPENING THE CONFERENCE.
There was full attendance at the open
ing session yesterday. Bishop Brown, of
| Washington, was expected to preside, but
he is detained at home by sickness
1t became necessary i'll his absence to
elect President, and Rev. j. A. Wood,
| Presiding Elder of the Savannah district,
was unanimously elected. At the request
of the President Rev. w. j. Gaines, of At
lanta, presided in his stead
Bishop R. R. Disney, of Canada, is ex.
pected to-day to fill the appointment of
the remainder of the Conference.
The entire morning and afternoon
sessions yesterday were taken up in
the appointment and arranging OF
the conference committees, and in getting
the work of the session mapped out. The
annual sermon was preached last night by
Rev. Caleb Mcdowell, of Hawkinsville.
TO BE IN SESSION A WEEK.
The conference will be in session until
next Tuesday night when the appointments
of ministers win be announced. There are
about 100 preachers in the conference be-
| sides the visitors. Among the latter are
Rev. w. j. Gaines, President of Morris
Brown College, of Atlanta, and who is the
unanimous choice of the Georgia Confer
ence for Bishop to succeed the late
| Bishop Cain, Rev. B. w. Arnett, of
| Xenia, O., Financial Secretary of the
| African Methodist church in the United
States, and one of the strongest pillars of
! African Methodism in this country, Rev.
B. I. Tanner, of Philadelphia, editor of the
A. NJ E. Church Rerie,0, and Rev. ]. G.
Embry, of Philadelphia, publisher of the
I Christian Recorder. The conference sessions
will be held in St James church There
will be public worship in the other African
Methodist churches every evening and on
| Sunday.
THE AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH.
The African Methodist Episcopal church
| has membership enrolment of some AGO.
| 900, with 8, 900 preachers and exhorters The
! complement of the Board of Bishops is ten,
| three of whom have died since the Baltimore
Quadrennial Conference, held three years
ago. There are 100000 Sunday school
scholars, with %. 900 teachers. The church.
parsonage and school property is vailed at
$4,500,000. 1t controls sixteen colleges and
academies, differed by some sixty-iive pro-
fessors and teachers, all colored, the princi-
pal institution being the WHEREFORE Uni
versity at Xenia, o. 1t sustains two peri
odicals, the Christian Recorder, published
weekly, which has a circulation of some
| 1900 copies, and is edited by DIR. B. +. Lee,
former President of Wilberforce Univer-
sity, and the Church ReuielC, issued quar-
terly, with a circulation of $500 copies,
edited by DIR. B. r. Tanner, one of the ripest
scholars in his denomination, and who was
for more than sixteen years edito- of the
| Christian Recorder, the official organ of
the church. These periodicals are issued
from the publication house owned by the
connection, at 631 Pine street, Philadelphia.
BRANCHES OF ITS WORK.
A Sunday school paper is also issued at a
branch office of the denomination at Nash
vile, Tenn, by the Rev. C. S. Smith, Secre-
tary of the Sunday school work, and the
Missionary Record is issued by the ReY. j
M. Townsend Secretary of the Foreign Mis-
sion and a member of the Indiana Legisla-
| ture
In addition to the extensive work success
fully prosecuted in the United States, the
| denomination also suStains prosperous mis-
sions in Africa, the West Indies, Hayti and
the republic of Dominica.
Besides this great Methodist body there
are four others with an aggregate member
ship of 737 500, which, with that of the
African Methodist Episcopal church, gives
total colored Methodist membership OF
1,137,500.
The real power and influence of the Afri
can Methodist Episcopal church as an edu
cational and evangelizing force dates from
the close of the war, in sos.
Every State in the Union now has con-
ference, and every town and city where
there is any considerable number of colored
people sustainS one or more churches.
ITS FIRST CENTURY.
The church has just completed the cele-
bration of the first century of its religious
independence. African Methodism started
in Philadelphia. Its founders were dissi-
dent colored members of white churches
who refused longer to endure the contempt
and odium heaped upon them by members
of the white religious bodies with which
they had affiliated. The leading spirits of
this first movement of the American-Afri-
can population to resent the then prevailing
ostracism and contempt of white church
men, were Richard Allen, Absalom Jones,
Richard Co6er, and others, who have be-
come fathers of the church, whose lives and
examples are regarded as a rich legacy by
their descendants.
The handful of colored people who were
in Philadelphia at the time, and who were
Methodsts in their religious views, held
their first meeting under the ministra-
tons of Richard Allen, who was man of
strong convictions, courage, ard some edu-
cation. The meetings were held in an old
blacksmith shop, purchased and fitted up by
Mr.. Allen.
GROWTH OF AFRICAN METHODIsM.
The independent spirit thus displayed was
soon nosod about, with the result that a
similar movement was successfully inau-
gurated in Baltimore. The movement
spread to other cities with equal success, Sc
that in 1916 all the organized recedents held
a conference at Philadelphia, and Richard
Allen was unanimously chosen as the first
Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, a UNCONVENTIONAL name adopted by
the conference, which has been retained to
the present time
The growth of the young denomination
was such that in 1898 the Rev. Morris
Brown was elevated to the bishopric to
share the honors and the labors with Bishop